Whole Foods recently released their very first ever curated beauty bag! A limited number of beauty bags were available at domestic Whole Foods retail stores starting on March 21st. These awesome beauty bags retailed for $60, but had the small price tag of $18! You can bet I dashed on over and snatched one of these up right away ;)
Sometimes sample bags can totally be hit or miss--but I love the goodies in this "Hello Beauty" bag. They're quality products for sure. I really love that any and all products at Whole Foods are free of any nasty ingredients, AND are cruelty free :)
Derma E Microdermabrasion Scrub
Salon-quality skin treatment with Dead Sea salt and volcanic sand.
This scrub is perfection. It has a very fine grit to it, light scent, and beautifully polishes my skin. I have awful combo oily/dry acne-prone skin, and I found that this scrub actually was great on my skin. After using it, my skin felt so smooth and renewed. As with any scrub, be careful not to overdo it. :)
Acure Cell Stimulating Facial Mask
Purify, moisturize and renew with French green clay, sea buckthorn oil and Moroccan argan stem cells.
I don't use masks often, but this one was fun. It felt refreshing on my skin! I did notice that my skin felt moisturized and "renewed"-feeling after using it.
Trilogy Vital Moisturising Cream
Versatile moisturizer with rosehip seed oil, marula oil and orange flower.
This is my favorite product of all of the products in this bag. This moisturizer is so incredible. First of all, it smells delightful! The full sized product (1.7 oz) retails for $44--which is a little more than I like to spend on moisturizer. However, it was seriously magical how this transformed my skin. As I've already mentioned, I've been struggling with random dry flaky spots and acne and irritation, and this moisturizing cream
Gabriel Mascara
Gentle and effective formula with plant waxes and vitamin B-5.
This is a good basic mascara in terms of formula and wand. It slightly lengthening and volumizing, and gives lashes a natural look. It's easy to remove--possible too easy. Some people, like myself, who have watery eyes due to allergies this time of year, may prefer to find a mascara with more water resistant. But the good news is that I didn't notice any smudging or flaking!
Giovanni 2chic Blackberry & Coconut Milk Ultra-Repair Shampoo
Botanical compounds pamper damaged, overprocessed hair
My hair has a lot of stuff going on--it's been bleached a lot of times, it's been colored a lot of times, I use a lot of products, I've chemically straightened it, etc. It needs TLC. Not just any shampoo will do, and I usually need conditioner as well. But I decided to give this shampoo a try all on its own, and was so surprised that after using it, my hair was not only clean (it got out all the hair product), but it didn't feel stripped and dry! I definitely want to give the conditioner a try too.
Pacifica Eye Shadow Duo or Lipstick
Rich, long-lasting color without parabens
I received the lipstick, and was really happy with the color. It's a really nice "my lips but better" nude/mauve shade. It was really flattering, and especially good for on the go, or at work, but really, could be worn anywhere. The packaging is really really cute too--love the white twist up tube with gold print. It wasn't especially moisturizing, but I didn't feel that it was drying either.
There was also a $5.00 coupon for any one BioSil product, and the actual hand-screen-printed organic cotton bag made by RIJIgreen, "a company dedicated to supporting survivors and eliminating human trafficking through fair trade, job opportunities and literacy training". Each bag had different fabric inside, and a different zipperpull braid on the outside. I love how cute the bags looked, but I love them even more knowing that they support such important causes.
Derma E Microdermabrasion Scrub
Salon-quality skin treatment with Dead Sea salt and volcanic sand.
This scrub is perfection. It has a very fine grit to it, light scent, and beautifully polishes my skin. I have awful combo oily/dry acne-prone skin, and I found that this scrub actually was great on my skin. After using it, my skin felt so smooth and renewed. As with any scrub, be careful not to overdo it. :)
Acure Cell Stimulating Facial Mask
Purify, moisturize and renew with French green clay, sea buckthorn oil and Moroccan argan stem cells.
I don't use masks often, but this one was fun. It felt refreshing on my skin! I did notice that my skin felt moisturized and "renewed"-feeling after using it.
Trilogy Vital Moisturising Cream
Versatile moisturizer with rosehip seed oil, marula oil and orange flower.
This is my favorite product of all of the products in this bag. This moisturizer is so incredible. First of all, it smells delightful! The full sized product (1.7 oz) retails for $44--which is a little more than I like to spend on moisturizer. However, it was seriously magical how this transformed my skin. As I've already mentioned, I've been struggling with random dry flaky spots and acne and irritation, and this moisturizing cream
Gabriel Mascara
Gentle and effective formula with plant waxes and vitamin B-5.
This is a good basic mascara in terms of formula and wand. It slightly lengthening and volumizing, and gives lashes a natural look. It's easy to remove--possible too easy. Some people, like myself, who have watery eyes due to allergies this time of year, may prefer to find a mascara with more water resistant. But the good news is that I didn't notice any smudging or flaking!
Giovanni 2chic Blackberry & Coconut Milk Ultra-Repair Shampoo
Botanical compounds pamper damaged, overprocessed hair
My hair has a lot of stuff going on--it's been bleached a lot of times, it's been colored a lot of times, I use a lot of products, I've chemically straightened it, etc. It needs TLC. Not just any shampoo will do, and I usually need conditioner as well. But I decided to give this shampoo a try all on its own, and was so surprised that after using it, my hair was not only clean (it got out all the hair product), but it didn't feel stripped and dry! I definitely want to give the conditioner a try too.
Pacifica Eye Shadow Duo or Lipstick
Rich, long-lasting color without parabens
I received the lipstick, and was really happy with the color. It's a really nice "my lips but better" nude/mauve shade. It was really flattering, and especially good for on the go, or at work, but really, could be worn anywhere. The packaging is really really cute too--love the white twist up tube with gold print. It wasn't especially moisturizing, but I didn't feel that it was drying either.
There was also a $5.00 coupon for any one BioSil product, and the actual hand-screen-printed organic cotton bag made by RIJIgreen, "a company dedicated to supporting survivors and eliminating human trafficking through fair trade, job opportunities and literacy training". Each bag had different fabric inside, and a different zipperpull braid on the outside. I love how cute the bags looked, but I love them even more knowing that they support such important causes.
I haven't calculated out the exact "value" of this "Hello Beauty" bag and its contents, but it's definitely worth more than the $18 I paid for it! I really hope that Whole Foods decides to continue doing these beauty bags.